BBC Radio 4 Thought for the Day: 27 July 2021

Good morning,

I was delighted to see Team GB’s Olympic gold rush kicked off yesterday with swimmer Adam Peaty taking home the gold in the 100m breaststroke. He’s a master of the post-event interview too – paying tribute to his family who, he says, also own his victory, and speaking of his longing to hug his young son when he gets home….   

I was also intrigued to hear about Peaty’s ultimate ambition – the aim to achieve what he describes as Project Immortal – a perfect, record-breaking performance, so good that it would be “almost inhuman and will never be beaten”.

This narrative of becoming super-human, of going beyond what is physically possible, of having your name etched somewhere in a sporting hall of fame, demonstrates something that is at its heart fundamentally human: our quest for value, recognition, and ultimately love.

But Peaty’s ambition aside -   when transposed into society more widely this instinct can result in rampant individualism; a dog-eat-dog world where those with strength, power, and money are regarded and remembered while those who are poor, powerless and in any way dis-abled, are cast aside and forgotten.

The Hofstede framework – a study that’s been going for 50 years – ranks countries based on a number of different markers of culture. In it, the UK ranks highly on both individualism and what the study terms ‘masculinity’– a highly success-oriented and driven culture, despite the apparent contradiction with the British reputation for modesty and understatement.

Vertical societies are often capitalist; individuals compete with each other to be the top dog. While more horizontal societies think in terms of ‘we’ rather than ‘I’.

The sentiment behind the word ‘competition’ could be helpful here; rooted in the Latin word competere which is about striving together.

In competing we push each other to become ‘faster, higher’ stronger’ as we hear in the Olympic motto. I love that in the Olympics, nations do compete together – one person’s win belongs to the whole country.

Because the Bible is full of criticism of the individual drive for power and success and in fact flips success on its head with its promise that in the kingdom of God it’s the last who will be first. The symbol of Christianity – the cross and the crucifixion it represents – do not at first glance represent victory. In fact, they may seem like loss.

Perhaps there’s something we can all learn from how we deal with defeat. In the words of famous Christian missionary and Olympian Eric Liddell: "In the dust of defeat as well as the laurels of victory there is a glory to be found.”